Online Exclusives

In the late 1990s it occurred to me to design a trailerable one-design racer. I was living in Key West, and I also saw this as a way to get involved in Key West Race Week, a fairly major event in the world of fast sailboats.

In 2003 I received a commission to design a 47′ aluminum schooner for a doctor in Australia, who wanted a fast, shoal-draft racer/cruiser. I designed new rotating wing L-Head masts for her, using modern hardware, winches and aircraft-grade plywood for the mast sides.

In cruising, sometimes something good comes out of something bad. On Friday the 13th of April 2012, I was sailing homeward bound in my sharpie schooner IBIS. I had three close friends on board, and we were enjoying the unparalleled beauty of the Exuma Cays Land and Sea Park.

I first sailed to the Bahamas in early 1981, in my cutter FISHERS HORNPIPE. I had sailed the HORNPIPE from California, through the Panama Canal, arriving in Key West in late 1980. Since the Bahamas were pretty much on the way to anyplace north, I decided to make a quick perusal of them.